It has been described as a “tame longing without any particular object”
(Schopenhauer), “a bestial and indefinable affliction” (Dostoevsky) and “time’s invasion of your world system” (Joseph Brodsky), but very few of us can explain precisely what boredom is. By giving boredom some space in our lives we are giving ourselves possibilities – it is an invitation to reflect on what is important in life. In order to show the importance of boredom Lars Fr. H. Svendsen is presenting us with an intellectual challenge in form of an essay. A Philosophy of Boredom investigates one of the central preoccupations of our age as it probes the nature of boredom, how it originated, how and why it afflicts us, and why we cannot seem to overcome it by any act of will. Bringing together observations from philosophy, literature, psychology, theology and popular culture, Lars Svendsen examines boredom from its pre-Romantic manifestations over Beckett and Andy Warhol to American Psycho and modern feelings of alienation and transgression. A witty and entertaining account that considers a serious issue, this book will appeal to anyone curious to know what lies beneath the overwhelming inertia of inactivity.